Auxiliary concave for a threshing cylinder



Aug. 25, 1964 E. w. HORN 3,145,715

AUXILIARY CONCAVE FOR A THRESHING CYLINDER Filed Aug. 2, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 v f l.)

C Q m INVENTOR. EL MEE w. Hoe/v,

Aug. 25, 1964 E. w. HORN 3,145,715

AUXILIARY CONCAVE FOR A THRESHING CYLINDER Filed Aug. 2, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR. 54/145 0v. HOEAf,

E. w. HORN 3,145,715

AUXILIARY CONCAVE FOR A THRESHING CYLINDER Filed Aug. 2, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Aug. 25, 1964 INVENTOR.

Q II

EL MEE W HOEM Aug. 25, 1964 w, HORN 3,145,715

AUXILIARY CONCAVE FOR A THRESHING CYLINDER Filed Aug. 2, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

EL MEE m HOE/V,

United States Patent 3,145,715 AUXILIARY CNAVE FOR A THRESHING CYLINDER Eimer W. Horn, RR. 2, Box 20, Forest, Ohio Filed Aug. 2, 1963, Ser. No. 299,503 Claims. (Cl. 130-27) This invention relates to combines or harvesters, and more particularly to attachments therefor, in the forms of an extra concave for their cylinders, and a hopper connected to their return elevators.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of easily installed devices of the character indicated, which enable the simultaneous continuous cycle threshing and scarifying of such as sweet clover, so that resort to a separate machine for the scarifying is desirably eliminated.

Another object of the invention is the provision of devices of the character indicated above, which enable simultaneously continuous cycle threshing and mixing of grain and feed, supplement, salt, and other materials fed manually to the return elevator hopper into the grain tank.

A further object of the invention is the provision of devices of the character indicated above, which enable the simultaneous continuous cycle grinding and cleaning of different materials, the added materials being fed manually into a hopper connected to the grain tank return elevator, these operations being carried on with the fan rendered inoperative.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an extra concave which is mounted through the opening ordinarily covered by the inspection door of a combine, and faces the front side of the cylinder, the extra concave having channel bars which provide dual cutting members, and being reversible for the alternate use of their cutting edges, and the extra concave being adjustable toward and away from the cylinder.

Other important objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein, for purposes of illustration only, a specific form of the invention is set forth in detail.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary right-hand side elevation of a combine showing a hopper connected to the lower end of the return elevator and an extra concave installed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1, showing the extra concave in place;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a rear prespective view of the extra concave, unmounted; and

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the extra concave.

Referring in detail to the drawings, a combine housing 10 has a vertical front wall 12 which is provided with a horizontal, transversely elongated inspection opening 14, which is normally closed by a removable door (not shown). The opening 14, when the door is removed, exposes the upper front part of a horizontal, transverse cylinder 16, which rotates in a clockwise direction, as seen in FIGURE 2. The cylinder 16 has, on its surface, equally spaced longitudinal raddles 18, preferably of convex shape.

Beneath the cylinder 16 is an arcuate, upwardly and rearwardly curved lower concave 20 having spaced bars 22, over which material is fed from a rearwardly inclining conveyor 24, in the intake conduit 26 of the combine, and is moved rearwradly by the action of the cylinder 16. A rear horizontal transverse rotary beater 28 is positioned behind the cylinder 16 for transferring material carried thereto by the cylinder and the lower concave 20 to a chatter assembly, shown in part, at 30. A cleaning fan 32 is located beneath the combine housing 10 and has communication therewith, at a location spaced rearwardly from the cylinder 16. A screen 31 spacedly overlies the bottom wall 33 of the housing 10, and underlies the concave 20.

A grain tank 34 is provided atop the forepart of the combine housing 10, to which material is fed by a forwardly inclined return elevator 36, mounted on the righthand side of the combine, which receives material from a horizontal transverse conveyor 38, beneath the combine housing 11), and discharges, at its upper end, intothe adjacent end of a transverse horizontal conveyor cylinder 40, which is spaced above the cylinder 16 and forwardly of the axis of the cylinder 16, and has a longitudinally elongated discharge slot 42. The slot 42, as shown in FIGURE 2, is located so that material M falling through the slot falls upon the top and the forward side of the cylinder 16. The cylinder 40 contains a rotary screw conveyor 44, and is located between the combine housing front wall 12, and a parallel spaced divider wall 46, having a forwardly declining feeder 48, on its lower end, which is spaced at a small distance forwardly from the forward edge 56 of a forwardly declining wall 52.

In accordance with the present invention, an extra concave 54 is supported through the combine front wall opening 14, which, as shown in FIGURES 2 through 6, comprises a vertically disposed, horizontal, transversely elongated base plate 56, wider and larger than the opening 14, which has midheight horizontal slots 58 in its ends, which receive the forward ends of rearwardly extending horizontal bolts 60. The bolts 60 have eyes 62, on their rear ends, which are engaged over existent bolt heads 64, on the sides of the combine housing 10, nuts 66 and 68 being threaded on the bolts 60, against the rear and front surfaces of the base plate 56, as shown in FIGURE 3.

The base plate 56 has upper and lower forwardly extending flanges 70 and 72, on its upper and lower edges, respectively. The upper flange 70 is formed with rearwardly opening slots 74, located near the ends thereof, which receive vertical bolts '76. The bolts 76 have eyes 78, on their upper ends, which are engaged over projections 80, on the combine housing front wall 12, above the opening 14 thereof. The slots 74 receive the lower parts of the bolts 76, and upper and lower nuts 82 and 84, respectively, are threaded thereon against related sides of the upper flange 70, as shown in FIGURE 2.

Upper and lower adjusting screws 86 and 88 are threaded rearwardly through spaced upper and lower openings 90 and 92, respectively, provided in the base plate 56, near the ends thereof, and have rear ends 94 and 96, respectively, which bear against parts 98 on the ends of the combine front wall 12, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. The screws 86 and and 88 are adapted to be adjusted to determine the concentric spacing of the extra concave 54, relative to the forward side of the cylinder 16, before the other bolts are tightened.

The extra concave 54 further comprises a plurality, here shown as three, of transversely spaced vertical L- shaped brackets 160, having flat foot portions 102, and rearwardly extending standard portions 104, which have concavely arcuate rear edges 106. The foot portions 102 are fixed to the rear side of the base plate 56, by vertically spaced bolts 108.

A transversely elongated carrier plate has an arcuate concave-convex middle portion 112, on whose upper and lower edges are upper and lower flanges 114 and 116,

respectively, the upper flange 114 being rearwardly inclined and the lower flange rearwardly declined. The convex side of the arcuate middle portion 112 is welded or otherwise suitably fixed to the concave edges 106 of the brackets 100, and the forward edges of the flanges 114 and 116 are similarly suitably fixed to the base plate 56, at the upper and lower edges thereof.

A plurality of transversely elongated horizontal, equally vertically spaced rearwardly opening channel bars 118 have webs 120, which are welded or otherwise suitably fixed to the concave side of the middle portion 112 of the carrier plate 110, the uppermost and lowermost of the bars 118 being flush with related edges of the portion 112. The bars 118 have parallel spaced flanges 120 and 122 which are normal to the middle portion 112, and have similar cutting edges 124. The extra concave 54 is adapted to be adjusted so that the cutting edges 124 are relatively close to the saddles 18 of the cylinder 16, as shown in FIGURE 2. The extra concave 54 is readily reversible, so that either the flange 120 or 122 can be placed upwardly to compensate for Wear on the edge of the other.

In operation, the combine being in operation, the material fed to the lower concave 20 and to the underside of the cylinder 16 by the conveyor 24, such as sweet clover, is podded as it passes between the cylinder and the lower concave 20 and its straw makes the usual passage through the chaffer and unhulled seed is put, into the grain tank, in an unscarified condition. As the material passes between the cylinder 16 and the lower concave 20, the pods fall through the lower concave 20, and the unhulled seeds are carried rearwardly on the chalfer 30, the holes of whose screen (not shown) are too small to pass the unhulled seeds. The return elevator 36 then carries these seeds into the conveyor cylinder 40, from which they fall onto the forward part of the cylinder 16, and pass downwardly between the cylinder 16 and the extra concave 54, so that they are hulled or scarified.

The hulled seed then falls through the lower concave 20, and travels rearwardly on the chatter 30, along with recently podded seeds. The scarified or hulled seeds are then of a size sufiiciently small that they fall through the holes of the lower chaffer screen 31 and arrive at the grain tank 34 in a clean condition.

When it is desired to grind grain, a hopper 126 is mounted in communication with the lower end of the return elevator 36, and grain placed therein manually, and

the fan 32 is rendered inoperative. With the combine operating, the grain is carried to the conveyor cylinder 40 by the return elevator 36, falls through the slot 42 thereof, onto the cylinder 16 and is ground by passage between the cylinder 16 and the extra concave 54.

Although there has been shown and described a preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily confined thereto, and that any change or changes in the structure of and in the relative arrangements of components thereof are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A combine comprising a housing having a front wall, an intake conduit in the lower portion of said front wall, said conduit containing a material feeding conveyor, a cylinder mounted within said housing and having a peripheral surface adjacent said front wall and said intake conduit, a lower concave supported beneath the cylinder in material-receiving relationship to the feeding conveyor, conveyor delivering means positioned above the cylinder and adapted to drop material onto the upper periphery of the cylinder, and an extra cutting concave mounted on the front wall between the conveyor delivery means and the intake conduit in threshing relationship with the cylinder.

2. The combine according to claim 1 wherein said cylinder has on its periphery a plurality of longitudinallyextending raddles arranged in spaced relation thereabout.

3. The combine according to claim 2 wherein said extra cutting concave comprises a vertically-disposed base plate, and vertically-spaced cutting bars on said base plate and facing toward the raddles on said cylinder.

4. The combine according to claim 3 wherein said lower concave has a plurality of spaced bars on which the material is fed.

5. The combine according to claim 1 wherein said conveyor delivering means embodies a horizontal conveyor cylinder provided with an elongated discharge slot and a rotary screw conveyor in said conveyor cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 204,276 Allonas May 28, 1878 230,622 Elward Aug. 3, 1880 2,367,990 Anderson et a1 Jan. 23, 1945 

1. A COMBINE COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING A FRONT WALL, AN INTAKE CONDUIT IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID FRONT WALL, SAID CONDUIT CONTAINING A MATERIAL FEEDING CONVEYOR, A CYLINDER MOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOUSING AND HAVING A PERIPHERAL SURFACE ADJACENT SAID FRONT WALL AND SAID INTAKE CONDUIT, A LOWER CONCAVE SUPPORTED BENEATH THE CYLINDER IN MATERIAL-RECEIVING RELATIONSHIP TO THE FEEDING CONVEYOR, CONVEYOR DELIVERING MEANS POSITIONED ABOVE THE CYLINDER AND ADAPTED TO DROP MATERIAL ONTO THE UPPER PERIPHERY OF THE CYLINDER, AND AN EXTRA CUTTING CONCAVE MOUNTED ON THE FRONT WALL BETWEEN THE CONVEYOR DELIVERY MEANS 